A Dragon's Heart
by JJay2400
Summary: Natsu and Lucy face the feelings they could never really comprehend before. After chaos strikes, Natsu is left contemplating, "maybe I should give up. She doesn't need this right now." WARNING: SPOILERS... IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TENROU ISLAND IS, BACK AWAY, BACK AWAY VERY QUICKLY!
1. Facing Feelings

**A/N: This is my first fanfic ever, well actually, I used to write some stories for my friends, but that doesn't matter. If it's not good, tell me in the reviews about what I should fix, so that's about it. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, Nalu would've happened already. So, yeah. I don't own Fairy Tail.**

 **A Dragon's Heart**

By JJay

Natsu laid peacefully on the far side of the pink comforter. Silently, he watched the sleeping blonde beauty beside him. Her gorgeous frame outlined against the bright moonlight that shone through the open window.

Her hair splayed out across the fresh white pillowcase, like branches that sprung out in a healthy tree. Natsu gently scooped up a lock and massaged the silky golden strands that slipped through his fingers.

Her fragrance overpowered his olfactory senses. It made him feel tingly and warm. Her scent was so sweet. So remarkable. So Lucy.

The thick waft of vanilla bean, and light cinnamon delighted him in such a way, he felt so comforted, so at home, and safe by her side.

Of course, he would never actually tell that to her directly.

In fact, she might never truly know how he felt. She would never know, the way he thought of her every day, as she bounded happily through the guild doors in the morning. Her beautiful blonde locks swaying with her every step.

She would never know the way he loved that distant, dreamy trance that crept onto her features when she was in deep thought.

She would never know how beautiful and magnificent she truly was, well, of course she knew that, everyone really knew that. He just wished that she wouldn't flaunt it the way she did.

Actually that was a lie.

He honestly loved it when she wore those kind of outfits. She looked so perfect in them. So perfect that he sometimes, unconsciously, stared at places beyond what he should even be thinking about.

He had always wanted to tell her, everything he had loved about her, and in hope, she wouldn't take it the wrong way. He always thought about that dreadful outcome. The idea that Lucy would completely reject him and never want to speak with him again, completely drained the courage he had built up.

So, he was never able to build enough courage to go through with his ambitions, but they kept growing stronger every second that he spent with her. And now, they were stronger than ever.

But that was always that one thing that he could never really understand. _Why did he feel like this?_

Natsu could never really grasp the reason of why he felt like this. He just kind of knew he liked her, but _like_ could never describe how he was feeling now.

Natsu knew what a crush was, he had one with Lissana when he was younger, but that was nothing compared to this now.

He would never understand _why he felt so warm and cheerful around her_? Don't get me wrong, Natsu was always warm but, this was a different kind of warm. It was a warm feeling that felt like true happiness, the feeling of being complete. He liked it.

Then there was the question of _why did he always want to be near her, or by her side?_

 _Why did he always feel the need to protect her as much as he did?_

 _Was she really that important?_

All these unanswered questions swirled around his head. He was so confused and boggled by it, he couldn't even think straight. He had never had this kind of problem before.

Natsu rummaged through every question, every idea in his head and came across that one question again.

 _Was she really important?_

That was when he found his answer. He never thought it would be so simple. One small little word changed his view on the situation.

 _Yes._

Lucy was really important. In fact, she was everything to him.

She was his light in the dark, his shoulder to cry on, and his ear to listen. She even held his very heart. Baring that on her own shoulders, and she didn't even realize it.

That was when he had finally realized, that he _loved_ Lucy. He had always heard Happy use the term, when he was teasing him so, he never really gave it much thought.

That's when the true realization hit. He _loved_ Lucy. The word rolled off his tongue and he enjoyed it. This simple word solved all of his problems. Well. Most of them.

He still had to actually confess to Lucy, and that was the big problem.

Natsu stared down at her sleeping figure. She looked so peaceful, as she always was, and that made the situation worse. _Why would she want to be with someone like me anyway?_

The doubts rolled in and it made Natsu feel sick. His abdomen began to clench and his mind whorled. Why _would_ she want him? She was so perfect. Calm, smart, gorgeous, and strong. All Natsu was, was stupid, immature, goofy, and he couldn't even protect Lucy.

His mind wandered back to that moment on Tenrou Island. He was overcome by a tsunamic wave of guilt. It washed over him so fast he thought he was going to vomit. The memory of it made him want to curl up into a tiny ball. He felt so small. So insignificant. So weak.

Just like he was on Tenrou. The memory was crystal clear. Natsu had just gotten stuck under the mound of rocks and boulders that fell on top of him. He couldn't do anything about it, he couldn't escape and save Lucy this time. She had run out of magic power and laid there helplessly. Just like he was.

He hated that look she had. Although she covered it up with words, he could clearly see that she was terrified. He could see her holding back tears when that asshole began pounding her into the ground. He was no help at all. If Natsu wasn't there, she could've easily run away a long time ago. She wouldn't have been caught up in the mess. She wouldn't have to have Natsu as a pathetic excuse of protection.

Natsu could feel his eyes start to burn and a few straggling tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn't stop himself. He felt so small and useless, he couldn't hold it back anymore. Natsu wiped the liquid off of his face.

' _This is so stupid.'_ Natsu thought. _'I shouldn't be crying over something like this. Lucy would probably think I'm a wimp.'_

Natsu looked over at the said blonde who stirred a little in her sleep. She had a small glimpse of expression on her face, of maybe worry, or sadness, but Natsu couldn't quite tell.

Gildarts had once told him about something like this, although he never really listened to it, one small phrase from it came to mind.

 _"All you need is patience."_ Natsu remembered it clearly now. _'Patience?'_ He reiterated the simple word in his mind. Trying to find the answer, then it came to him. "All I need is some patience." He whispered to nobody in particular. _'And then maybe she'll see me the way I want her to.'_ Natsu grinned a little at the thought. The serious tension he had created with himself had all but simmered away at the fragment of new hope.

Natsu gave a short yawn and searched for the bedside clock. It read 2:52 a.m. Natsu sighed and remembered the mission the team was taking today. _'How the hell am I supposed to wake up at 7? This sucks.'_ After the brief mental complaining, he saw an opportunity.

Natsu gave a quick smirk and slowly inched closer to Lucy, who was stirring a little more in her sleep. He carefully wrapped his left arm around her waist and tucked his right arm under her. His nose instantly nuzzled in between the space where her neck and shoulder connected.

Lucy gave a slight sigh in her sleep and her lips curled up into a soft smile. "Natsu." She whispered. Natsu snuggled even closer, bathing in her sweet aroma. _'All I need is a little patience."_ With that Natsu drifted in a deep slumber. Dreaming of all the events that occurred that day, and what might occur, in time.

~fin~

 **A/N: Wow, that was…. Dramatic? I'm sorry for all the drama in this but, I guess that's what I felt like writing. Actually that's my sort of style, I can do fluff, but this is better. By the way, for those who are caught up in the manga, Natsu has matured quite a bit, so I'm going off of that. Anyways, if you enjoyed (or not) please review and tell me what I should fix, or if I should continue with another chapter. Another thing, I'm thinking of writing a Nalu (and other pairings) in a fanfiction about the zombie apocalypse. Sort of like the TWD but different I guess. Is that a good idea or not?**


	2. The Longest Ride

**A/N: I'm sooooo sooorrrry! It's been like what, a whole week. I was going to update after 3 days but just got a little side-tracked. I decided from myself and a couple reviews that I got, that I should go on with the story (plus, I'm just really bored) and well that's about it. If you enjoyed (or not) please leave a review, it'll really help. So anyways… on with the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, I wouldn't writing fanfiction would I?**

 **A Dragon's Heart**

 **Chapter 2: The Longest Ride**

By JJay

The morning sun leisurely breached from the edge of the sky, its brilliant rays beaming through the gaping window above Lucy's bed.

Lucy began to stir from the light breeze that made its way in. Her vision was filled with a shining beam of sunlight, so bright she encased her face with the soft comforter. She was just jerked out of an amazing dream and tried to go back, but sleep wouldn't come.

Facing defeat, Lucy groaned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She gave a short yawn and made and an attempt to get out of bed, but something held her back.

"What the-" Lucy squirmed a little, but still remained on her side. Her gaze slowly lowered to her stomach. Crimson red shot up her cheeks.

There, wrapped around her abdomen, were two muscular arms. The slightly calloused hands, gently gripped her waistline.

Unexpectedly, a breath of hot air steamed on the left side of Lucy's neck, she swung her line of sight to the uninvited guest.

His eyes were shut tight in a tranquil sleep. He looked so peaceful, completely different from that of his usual self. Lucy looked on, closer to his wandering expressions.

Natsu wore an adorning smile, and his eyebrows curled tight in a look of frustration. Soon, his face lowered from its frustrated state, but his brows turned upward in a look of worry, but something else that Lucy couldn't recognize.

A muffled snicker could be heard from the other side of the bed.

"You loooove him…" She saw Happy staring at her from the area near the window.

Slightly confused, Lucy looked back at her and Natsu's current position. She completely forgot. Lucy's face turned a whole new shade of red.

"N-nn-n," she started to stutter, seething with anger. "NATSU, YOU PERVERT!"

Her fist instinctively swung, connecting to his jawline. Forcing him to flail out of the window, blanket in hand.

 **. . . . . . .**

Natsu rubbed the tender, swollen cheek in his hand. "Did you really have to hit me, what did I do!?" He pouted as the blonde glared at him.

"Do you really _want_ the answer to _that?"_ Lucy shot back bitterly, then a light pink tint creeped onto her cheeks. Her mind wandered to the image that refrained from leaving. She was so embarrassed, she almost felt the steam pouring from her ears.

"Earth to Lucy, come in Lucy." Natsu waved his free hand in front of her face. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, thanks." Lucy practically spit out. Obviously still irritated by the early predicament.

"Don't worry, Natsu," Happy waved his paw in the air before cuffing it to his mouth. "She's just fantasizing about your early morning cuddle!" he lost it and burst out in a fit of giggles.

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID FELINE! I WAS NOT!" Lucy began to chase Happy around the room, swatting when she got close.

Natsu sunk a little in his scarf, fighting back the blush that threatened to spill out. He now remembered that little stunt he pulled early this morning. He definitely wasn't thinking, probably too tired.

 _'Speaking of which, aren't we taking a job today? What time is i-'Natsu_ looked at the clock and paled.

"AW CRAP! ERZA'S GONNA KILL US!" The clock read 8:30, a whole hour and a half later then the time they were supposed to _meet._

"What do you mean?" Lucy looked over at Natsu who grabbed her alarm clock and shoved it in her face.

"IT'S 8:30!" Natsu's face scrunched up in thought. "If we leave right now, Erza might just spare us, but if she doesn't, at least it'll be painless right? Right?" Natsu looked over at Lucy with a pleading look, hoping for reassurance, but none was given. Lucy grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom without another word.

"Maybe we shouldn't go today, I mean, there are other jobs right?!" Happy shrieked and turned his gaze to the bathroom door, where Lucy had entered only a moment before.

"Maybe if we pretend we're sick, she won't kill us." Natsu attempted to come up with an excuse not to go, but before he could say anything else, Lucy emerged from the bathroom with her usual clothes.

She shook her head and giggled at the two who continued to freak out. In bewilderment, they stared at Lucy who continued to get ready. She simply turned to them with a grin.

"We have to be there by 9, what were you guys thinking?" She looked in the mirror, fixing her single, long ponytail and put on her earrings.

The boys gave a deep sigh and slumped down, practically melting on the floor. "What a relief." They said in unison. "To think you were scared of nothing. Stupid Natsu." Happy sighed.

"Hey, what did I do? You were scared to!" Natsu seethed but Lucy started to talk. "Hey Guys, we still need to go. It takes about 20 minutes to get there, but I was hoping we could get some breakfast." As soon as Lucy finished her sentence, Natsu and Happy's stomachs emitted a loud growl, signifying that they were hungry, too.

"Alright, let's go! I'm starving!" Natsu jumped up and out of the window calling out to Lucy as he went.

"Are you coming or not?!" Lucy, who just grabbed her keys, shot back her usual remark.

"Could you at least use the door?!" As they ran off in the direction of the train station. Lucy decided to catch a ride to a café near the station.

 **. . . . . . .**

Natsu's sickly green face hung out of the train window. He was obviously in pure motion-sick agony. Lucy gently rubbed his back while, at the same time, tried to comfort Wendy. She felt awful due to the Troia spell not working like it should.

"Just grin and bear it Natsu, no need to be a wuss about it," Gray scoffed at the pathetic puke machine. He got up and walked to another cabin, not wanting to see it anymore.

Wendy rubbed her eyes and looked at Natsu in defeat. She sighed, "I'm sorry, I use it so much on you, and I guess you're immune to it now." Natsu replied with a groan. "It's okay, it's not you're fa-" He was cut off when a wave of vomit poured from his mouth and out of the cabin window.

Erza stood from her seat and looked at Natsu. "I'll go to the kitchen and see if there's anything that Natsu can take for his motion sickness. Wendy, can you come with me?" Wendy instantly bounded from her seat at the offer.

"No, problem. It's the least I can do." She looked back at Natsu with a look of worry. "Just hold on a little longer, okay?" Carla followed and Happy instinctively came too, leaving Lucy and Natsu by themselves in the room.

Natsu blew chunks out the window as Lucy tried to accompany him. Suddenly, the train jerked, flinging Natsu right onto Lucy's lap. He was out cold.

"Are you kidding me? He's already asleep?!" Lucy sighed and let him lay there, not wanting him to suffer from the moving train. Subconsciously, she began to gently massage his pink locks. She had never noticed how soft they were, and soon acknowledged that she never had the chance to find out.

Her eyes scanned to his features for the second time that day. Although he was out cold, she could see he was no longer in pain. He was completely peaceful, and calm, something that she never really saw when he was awake.

Something fluttered in her stomach, making her feel warm and content. Her gaze lowered to that of his scarf, and lowered even more to that scar. His scarf was looser than normal, making it fairly easy to see that strange scar. Without noticing, she began to caress his face with her fingers, outlining his jawline and inching closer to that _scar._

Lucy's fingers hovered over the mark before lightly skimming it. Natsu's breath hitched instantly under Lucy's bare touch. It wasn't the feeling of pain or of being uncomfortable, but it sounded like Natsu liked it. There was only two things, which Lucy knew, could be distinguished by that sound. It was either want, or _lust._

Lucy chuckled inwardly, ' _as if Natsu was smart enough to understand those kind of things.'_ Her fingers ran through those salmon locks once more. _'He looks so cute when he sleeps.'_

Lucy couldn't understand exactly what she felt, but she never thought much of it. She knew what it was like to have a crush, or like someone but, she would always brush it off. For Lucy, it was like things would never work out. Always having doubts, love was not her forte. She'd never really been on a single date, let alone have a boyfriend. After a while, she gave up on love and let nature take its course.

Without a doubt. She knew she had a crush, on Natsu, actually, that was an understatement. Lucy used her index finger to draw a circle around a patch of hair. She knew her feelings were a lot more than a little crush, and that was one of her problems. _When_ , was the question? _When_ had her feelings started? Was it during Tartaros, or was it before that? They could've started during Tenrou, but then again. They could've started even before that.

Lucy knew it didn't matter, but she also knew that it wouldn't work out. They were best friends, partners, teammates, and she didn't want to end that because of a stupid little crush. Besides, he didn't love her back. That was certain.

Lucy didn't notice the pairs of eyes, gawking at the scene in front of them. Erza decided to clear her throat, making Lucy jump out of her skin. A shade of red leaking onto her features. "Surprisingly, the kitchen had an herb that stops motion sickness. They made it into a tea for us." Wendy looked at Natsu who began to stir a little.

Quickly she grabbed the cup and asked Natsu to drink from it. As soon as he did, the effects of the sickness faded. Leaving Natsu to his normal self.

"Aww right! I'm back! Yeah that's right, not even a train can stop me now!" Natsu punched the air and looked at Wendy, "What is that stuff, it's awesome."

Wendy looked down at the remaining thick, gray liquid in the tea cup. "They said it's a mix of peppermint, ginger and dragon fruit, they call it Dragon Ash."

"Cool! I'm so bringing that next time!" Natsu smirked and Happy laughed. "He'll probably forget all about it when we get off the train."

After the cab crowded a bit and Gray returned, Erza pulled out the mission to read it. Assuring everyone knew what they were doing when the left the train.

Erza started. "The mission says that there's a dangerous mage that's taken over a nearby town. We have to report to the mayor at 8 tomorrow morning, he'll give us more details once we meet. And again, the reward is 10 million jewel, easy to split between the 5 of us. Natsu and Wendy will share their earnings with Happy and Charle." Lucy perked at the thought of having enough money to pay her rent for a while, but something bugged her to no end once Erza started reading. She couldn't seem to put her finger on what it was. Maybe just a bad feeling. Nothing serious.

"Does it say anything about the mage we're looking for?" Erza nodded and handed the paper to Lucy.

Lucy began to read it, thinking to herself in the process. _'Okay, let's see. Female. Black hair. Purple eyes? That's strange, then again Natsu has pink hair so I shouldn't question it. Age unknown, presumably… 10!? That can't be right.'_

Lucy looked at Erza with shock. "Are we seriously going to have to beat up a 10-year-old?!"

Erza replied blandly. "Keep reading." Lucy turned her gaze back to the paper to continue. _'Knows many types of magic including Precognition and Aging magic. Eye witness reports claim she appears in a different "form," telling people their fortunes.'_ Lucy nodded to Erza, showing she understood.

Lucy suddenly felt intrigued by the mysterious women they were after. _'The ability to see the future, huh?'_ Lucy sighed and turned her gaze to Natsu, who started picking a fight with Gray. She returned to her thoughts, _'seems like a curse to me.'_

~End~

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait and (*sigh) giving you a halfhearted 2** **nd** **chapter. I tried my best to get it updated on time but, here's your 4** **th** **of July present I guess. I promise I'll upload the next chapter soon. I'm planning on making a one-shot soon to take the load off of this single series. As usual, if you enjoyed (or not) please leave a review, it helps me a lot. I guess that's it. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Important Update!

**!Update!**

 **A/N: Hey guys. It's JJay, and I am so sorry! I haven't uploaded in a while due to some issues. Actually. That's an understatement… I'll make it as simple as possible so I can get to work on the 3** **rd** **chapter.**

 **Ok, there were some serious problems with my file and documents… Don't worry, I'm smart enough to make a backup but, it didn't help me at all :I Like at all… The file corrupted during a lightning storm and I couldn't open even the backups to them anymore. It sucked.**

 **I had a raging (don't get dirty on me guys) case of writers block… and to make it worse my entire flow of imagination had completely stopped. Like everything stopped. I didn't have the inspiration to do anything really. I love drawing and making works of art (I sold 3 of them once) on my iPad, it helps my brain vent and clear my mind, but NOPE. By brain just didn't want to work. I couldn't even think straight. No matter how hard I try. I even tried that deep breathing crap!**

 **This is a biggie, so I'm going to make it as short as possible. An old friend of my dad's (not much of mine, but I know him enough) has cancer, and he had given up on fighting it (don't pity me or him please! I personally hate it when someone ever pities me, it kind of makes me feel worthless idk why though). He hasn't died but his state of living has collapsed. Like I said, I never really knew him that well but it caused me to spiral in some kind of existential crisis and couldn't stop thinking of death and what will happen when I grow up so, yeah.**

 **It's been relatively hard to write a story so I hope this gave you some info on why I'm not uploading right now. BTW, I'm still trying to get as much inspiration as possible so I can make the next chapter amazing. Well, I hope it will be amazing. Anyways, hope this shone some light on the current situation and I guess that all. See you in the next chapter!**


End file.
